Bronson Melody King Lap Steel Electric Guitar, made by Rickenbacker (1953)
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Item # 9641
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Bronson Melody King Model Lap Steel Electric Guitar, made by Rickenbacker (1953), made in Los Angeles, California, polished brown finish, molded Bakelite body and neck, original brown tolex hard shell case.
The Bronson Company was a Detroit-based spinoff of the Oahu publishing empire that did similar business selling Hawaiian guitar arrangements to teaching studios, and guitars to go with them. Most Bronson-labeled instruments were Hawaiian guitars, by the 1940s primarily electric lap steels. The firm was supplied by several different subcontractors including (in this case) Rickenbacker but also Valco and Regal. Bronson products were always designed to be classy-looking; they were fond of adding gold-plated accents to their instruments and this brown-and-bronze steel presents a interesting visual contrast to Rickenbacker's own more austere standard black and white livery.
This 1953 Melody King was a high end model for Bronson -- most were basic student-grade instruments. It was made by Rickenbacker in Los Angeles and is essentially their own Bakelite model B-6 with a different color scheme. The body and neck are molded from the mottled brown Bakelite seen on many household products of the era, with the metal panels on the body enameled in a dusky gold/bronze hue. It uses the same great-sounding horseshoe magnet pickup unit as the rest of the Rickenbacker line, prized since the 1930's for its singing tone and powerful overdrive facility.
The screwed-on Bakelite neck has integral molded frets and nut with white "fret" lines. The volume and tone controls are on the treble side, as is the output jack. The headstock has Kluson Deluxe strip tuners and a neat folding cover over the face to hide the unsightly string ends. This is a great-sounding steel, with a bit brighter tone than typical 1930s Rickenbackers but still a full-bodied roar when cranked. It is an interesting and attractive variation on the traditional Rickenbacker B-6 -- same great sound in a new suit -- and a much rarer one at that.
Overall length is 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 1/2 in. (572 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/4 in. (57 mm.).
This is a superbly clean and original instrument, not showing a lot of play time over the past 70+ years. There is some minor wear overall, mostly to the enamel on the metal parts which shows some small dings and chips but overall the instrument still shines like it did at the end of the Korean War. It is completely original and unaltered and still sounds fantastic. A great period steel and as a very cool Bakelite Rickenbacker variant, still in the original tan rectangular HSC. Excellent Condition.
The Bronson Company was a Detroit-based spinoff of the Oahu publishing empire that did similar business selling Hawaiian guitar arrangements to teaching studios, and guitars to go with them. Most Bronson-labeled instruments were Hawaiian guitars, by the 1940s primarily electric lap steels. The firm was supplied by several different subcontractors including (in this case) Rickenbacker but also Valco and Regal. Bronson products were always designed to be classy-looking; they were fond of adding gold-plated accents to their instruments and this brown-and-bronze steel presents a interesting visual contrast to Rickenbacker's own more austere standard black and white livery.
This 1953 Melody King was a high end model for Bronson -- most were basic student-grade instruments. It was made by Rickenbacker in Los Angeles and is essentially their own Bakelite model B-6 with a different color scheme. The body and neck are molded from the mottled brown Bakelite seen on many household products of the era, with the metal panels on the body enameled in a dusky gold/bronze hue. It uses the same great-sounding horseshoe magnet pickup unit as the rest of the Rickenbacker line, prized since the 1930's for its singing tone and powerful overdrive facility.
The screwed-on Bakelite neck has integral molded frets and nut with white "fret" lines. The volume and tone controls are on the treble side, as is the output jack. The headstock has Kluson Deluxe strip tuners and a neat folding cover over the face to hide the unsightly string ends. This is a great-sounding steel, with a bit brighter tone than typical 1930s Rickenbackers but still a full-bodied roar when cranked. It is an interesting and attractive variation on the traditional Rickenbacker B-6 -- same great sound in a new suit -- and a much rarer one at that.
Overall length is 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 1/2 in. (572 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/4 in. (57 mm.).
This is a superbly clean and original instrument, not showing a lot of play time over the past 70+ years. There is some minor wear overall, mostly to the enamel on the metal parts which shows some small dings and chips but overall the instrument still shines like it did at the end of the Korean War. It is completely original and unaltered and still sounds fantastic. A great period steel and as a very cool Bakelite Rickenbacker variant, still in the original tan rectangular HSC. Excellent Condition.